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CBT focuses strictly on the business of legal cannabis for medical and recreational use and aims to provide timely information—through its website, e-newsletter, mobile app, print magazine and annual conference—to help the reader make timely, informed decisions to help them run their businesses better and more profitably. In 2018, Cannabis Business Times was named Magazine of the Year by the American Society of Business Publication Editors.

At SoCal Hemp Co., a Long-Term Plan for Cannabinoid Product Development

Out in the Mojave Desert, a hemp farm is stirring in the dry wind. After inking a partnership last year and trying out a small-scale crop experiment, the teams at Glass House Farms and Cadiz Inc. are watching their first real attempt at the industry come to fruition.

Together, the two companies formed SoCal Hemp Co. 

Courtesy of SoCal Hemp Co.
The crop in May 2020.

Graham Farrar, president of Glass House Farms, says that hemp offers many relatively inexpensive opportunities to learn more about the cannabis plant.

“I look at things through the lens of cannabinoid products,” he says. “We’re just starting to scratch the surface of what cannabinoids are all about.”

Hemp, of course, is legally defined to exclude anything higher than 0.3% THC content. But every other cannabinoid is fair game. And while CBD has the spotlight right now, Farrar points to minor cannabinoids like CBC, CBN and CBG as notable compounds that will play a role in new product innovation. Zooming out further, there are untold possibilities for additional cannabinoid development (alongside breeding hemp varieties for specific terpene and flavonoid profiles). The opportunities are vast.

To accomplish that, Glass House Farms partnered with publicly traded water supplier Cadiz Inc. in 2019. The company owns 9,600 fertile acres in the Mojave Desert, all sitting atop a natural aquifer. Farrar says that Cadiz boasts the land, water and sunshine required for agriculture on this scale; Glass House brings the operational expertise. The two companies will split proceeds from future hemp sales.

socal hemp co

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Ultra Health Sues New Mexico Department of Health Over New Medical Cannabis Regulations

Ultra Health, one of New Mexico’s largest medical cannabis producers, has sued the state’s Department of Health over its new medical cannabis regulations, according to a Santa Fe New Mexican report.

The lawsuit alleges that the department “simply copied and pasted regulations from other states without considering how those out of state regulations would or could perform in the real world in New Mexico,” the news outlet reported.

Ultra Health is asking the district judge to request that the department repeal and rewrite several of the rules which it deems “arbitrary and capricious,” according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.

The company filed the lawsuit July 10 after the state published its new regulations June 23, the news outlet reported. Ultra Health’s complaints target the state’s new rules on testing and labeling requirements, hemp, and the department’s criteria for suspending and revoking producers’ licenses.

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Florida Supreme Court Orders Second Round of Arguments in Medical Cannabis Case

The Florida Supreme Court ordered a second round of arguments July 14 in a case over whether the state properly implemented a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical cannabis, according to the Miami Herald.

The lawsuit, filed by Tampa-based Florigrown, challenges the constitutionality of a 2017 law that implemented the constitutional amendment, particularly provisions related to the business licensing process. Florigrown was denied a business license and alleges that aspects of Florida’s medical cannabis law improperly limit the companies that can participate in the industry, according to the Miami Herald.

RELATED: A Florida Cannabis Business Wants to Eliminate the State’s Cap on Medical Marijuana Licenses

The Supreme Court heard arguments in May, the news outlet reported, but the new hearing will focus on whether the 2017 law is an unconstitutional “special” law, which is generally intended to benefit specific entities and is prohibited under Florida law, according to the Miami Herald.

Florigrown and the Florida Department of Health must now file additional briefs on the issue, the news outlet reported, and another round of arguments is scheduled for Oct. 7.

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Illinois Collects More Than $52 Million in Cannabis Tax Revenue During First Six Months of Legal Adult-Use Sales

Illinois collected roughly $52.8 million in cannabis tax revenue during the first six months of legal adult-use sales, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

The state collected roughly $34.7 million in cannabis excise taxes and $18 million in sales taxes, the news outlet reported. A portion of the sales tax revenue will be shared with local governments, according to the Chicago Tribune, while about $25.9 million will be deposited into the state’s general fund, with a portion earmarked for reinvestment into communities impacted by the war on drugs.

The figures shatter Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget estimates, which predicted the state would collect $28 million in cannabis tax revenue by June 30, the news outlet reported.

Illinois’ cannabis sales surpassed $47 million in June, which set a new record for the highest monthly sales figures in the state.

Total adult-use cannabis sales have topped $239 million since sales launched Jan. 1, the Chicago Tribune reported.

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WeedMD Cultivars Will Be Included in UHN Study

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Colorado Approves Additional Pesticides for Use On Cannabis

BROOMFIELD, Colo., July 14 -PRESS RELEASE- The Colorado Department of agriculture has expanded its list for pesticides that can be used on cannabis. Any pesticides not on the list that are used on cannabis puts the producer in of the Pesticide Applicators' Act has been updated. The products added to the list are: Decco AG PAA, Mite-Phite ZM, Fortify Miticide and VaRx Brand MaxRx

The department reviews pesticide labels upon request, and maintains the list with products “we have reviewed that we believe could be used on marijuana without violating 35-10-117(1)(i).” The list currently has over 400 approved pesticides.

To view the updated list, click here for a pdf or click here for an Excel form. For questions regarding this change, contact Laura Quakenbush at (303) 869-9060 or email [email protected].

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Wellness Connection of Maine CEO Takes New Position with Parent Company, Acreage Holdings

Patricia Rosi, the CEO of Wellness Connection of Maine, has left her role to take a new position with the company’s parent company, Acreage Holdings, according to a Portland Press Herald report.

Rosi has served as Wellness Connection’s CEO since 2013 and will now become Acreage Holdings’ vice president of marketing, the news outlet reported.

Wellness Connection operates four of Maine’s eight medical cannabis dispensaries, as well as a cultivation facility in Auburn, the Portland Press Herald reported. Wellness Connection declined to respond to the news outlet’s inquiries about who will act as CEO in Rosi’s absence.

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Hawaii Legislature Approves Bill Allowing the Sale of Cannabis Edibles

The Hawaii Legislature passed a bill July 10 that allows the state’s eight medical cannabis licensees to sell edibles, according to a Big Island Now report.

The legislation would also allow publicity for educational and scientific events, as well as the remediation of cannabis flower in certain instances, the news outlet reported.

The bill now goes to Gov. David Ige for his signature.

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Missouri Medical Cannabis Program Director Says Sales Could Launch This Fall

Medical cannabis sales could launch in Missouri as soon as this fall, according to a Missourian report.

Two cultivation facilities, one in Earth City near St. Louis and another in Perryville, were given the green light to plant their first crops last month, the news outlet reported, which means product could be ready within the next few months.

“If you do the math, 90 days from those time frames, you are looking at September and October,” Lyndall Fraker, director of the state’s medical cannabis program, told the Missourian. “That’s when I think you will be seeing quite a few dispensaries ready to sell product.”

RELATED: BeLeaf Medical Launches Missouri’s First Medical Cannabis Cultivation Operation with More to Come: The Starting Line

Fraker told the news outlet that three additional cultivators have requested inspections, and he expects more requests for final inspections and certifications in the coming months.

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After Unsuccessful 2020 Signature Campaign to Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis in Missouri, Group Looks to 2022

Missourians for a New Approach’s 2020 ballot initiative to pass adult-use cannabis legalization in the state ended because of the coronavirus pandemic that has swept the nation. Now, the group is looking ahead to the 2022 ballot.

Dan Viets is an attorney who chairs the group’s advisory board and is both secretary of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and that organization’s state coordinator for Missouri.

Viets noted a recent Gallup poll showed that 70% of Americans consider smoking cannabis to be morally acceptable. “By November of 2022, I think—I'll just speak for myself on this point—but I think we will probably be approaching the same support we had for medical in 2018, and that was 66%," he said.

He contributes that prediction to the following: “It's partly the aging of the population, but it’s also the fact that across the nation, obviously, cannabis is now much more accepted.”

Viets said the task of gathering signatures from 8% of voters in six out of Missouri’s eight congressional districts, as governed by state law, required numerous resources but was feasible until the pandemic struck.

Other groups gathering signatures for separate initiatives were able to continue to do so, but Missourians for a New Approach still had a ways to go to reach the signature requirement, which, according to the Springfield News-Leader, is around 160,000.

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Penn State Extension Offers Budget Models for Hemp Growers

Regardless of where you are on your hemp farming journey, financial planning is as important as your cultivation strategy. Launching a new business comes with a significant degree of risk: About 20% of startups with employees fail within their first year and 50% fail within 5 years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics. The biggest risk factor? “Running out of money …,” according to Investopedia.

Proper budgeting, therefore, is key to survival. In that vein, staff at The Pennsylvania State University’s (PSU) College of Agricultural Sciences Extension—including research, horticulture and agricultural economics experts—created sample production budgets to help hemp farmers project expenses and income to estimate the profitability of their farming operations. While the budget models were developed in 2018 and 2019, Jeffrey S. Graybill, agronomy education at Penn State Extension, noted them as helpful resources for hemp growers during his presentation at the recent Cannabis Conference Virtual Conference Series’ Hemp Virtual Conference. Hemp Grower followed up with Graybill to learn more.

Production Output Budgets

Penn State experts developed three models:

Industrial Hemp CBD Production BudgetIndustrial Hemp Grain Production Budget, andIndustrial Hemp Fiber Production Budget.

The sample budgets allows farmers to fill in their variable costs, such as soil tests and other testing fees, fertilizer/soil amendments, seed, hand labor, grain or bale hauling, drying CBD biomass, diesel fuel for tractors, and more. Farmers also can fill in the quantity and the price they expect to garner for their CBD biomass, grain or fiber.

“I have worked through the spreadsheets myself to get a feel for them and how real-world they are. I think they can be a big help when both considering growing hemp and when planning and budgeting for the crop you have in the ground,” says Graybill.

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Australis Capital Faces Lawsuit Over Planned Property Sale, Pivot from Cannabis Cultivation

Green Therapeutics LLC and Meridian Companies LLC have filed a lawsuit against Australis Capital Inc. in Nevada’s Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County— against which Australis announced it plans to “vigorously defend” itself. An Australis investor has also publicly criticized the defendant.

The plaintiffs’ complaint, which has been heavily redacted, states that “… Australis stole … from Plaintiffs under false pretenses, has breached the contracts, and has acted in a manner inconsistent with the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.” Alleged damages have exceeded $15,000.

The plaintiffs declined comment to Cannabis Business Times. The defendants could not be reached for comment.

In a press release, Green Therapeutics, a Nevada cultivator, manufacturer and processor, alleges it and Meridian transferred to Australis nearly 9 acres of land in North Las Vegas, in addition to brands, licenses “and other intellectual property, assets, and rights” in exchange for Australis shares “and other promises and rights.” An Australis press release from May 2019 announced the news, citing plans to build a “400,000 square foot cultivation and production facility which will be built to the industry recognized Aurora Cannabis standard.” (Canada-based Aurora has since fallen from grace, with plunging stock, the departure of founder Terry Booth and mass layoffs.)

Green Therapeutics and Meridian state that Australis no longer plans to construct the 400,000-square-foot facility. Instead, it outlined plans to sell the property “and use the proceeds to purchase Passport Technology Inc. (or alternatively transfer the property in connection with such transaction), a company majority owned and controlled by a director of Australis.”

A July 3 Australis press release said: “the Plaintiffs' complaint of breach of contract is without merit and is an opportunistic ploy to reverse two separate and legitimate, closed deals in which Green Therapeutics sold to Australis certain cannabis licenses, brands, and other assets in exchange for common shares of Australis, and Meridian sold to Australis certain real property.

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Nebraskans For Medical Marijuana Meet Signature Requirement for 2020 Ballot Initiative

Nebraskans For Medical Marijuana hope to find out by mid-August if enough of the more than 182,000 signatures they submitted July 2 are valid to qualify for a ballot initiative this November.

The campaign submitted well over the roughly 121,000 signatures required to put the constitutional amendment legalizing medical cannabis in front of Nebraska voters, and collected signatures from all of the state’s 93 counties, according to the campaign. Now, state and local officials will review the signatures and must verify a certain percentage of them to move forward, says Jared Moffat, who has worked on the campaign for more than a year through his role as campaigns coordinator for the Marijuana Policy Project, which has supported the Nebraska campaign with staff time.

“There is definitely a possibility there will be some challenges to some of our signatures from the opposition who doesn’t want this to appear in the ballot. It’s still very early in the process,” Moffat says. “We’re all hopeful and we’re feeling good, but we’re not quite at the place of feeling great about being on the ballot just yet.”

RELATED: Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana Resumes Signature Drive While Maintaining Social Distancing

The advocates were required to collect signatures from at least 5% of voters in a minimum of 38 counties in Nebraska, Moffat says. Moffat said they wouldn’t have been able to meet that minimum – especially considering they needed to gather in-person signatures during a pandemic – without the efforts from passionate volunteers, who collected about 33,000 signatures.

“We couldn’t just focus all of our efforts in the densely populated cities like Omaha and Lincoln,” Moffat says. “We wouldn’t have qualified – assuming we do qualify – it wouldn’t have happened without an enormous amount of work done by the volunteers and that grassroots component of the campaign.”

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Curaleaf Completes Acquisition of Grassroots' License in Arizona

WAKEFIELD, Mass., July 13, 2020--PRESS RELEASE-- Curaleaf Holdings, Inc., a vertically integrated cannabis operator in the U.S., today announced that Curaleaf has completed the acquisition from Grassroots of exclusive rights to the Grassroots' All Rebels Rockers Inc. marijuana license in Arizona. The transaction was completed in advance of the closing of Curaleaf's acquisition of Grassroots to enable accelerated development of the All Rebel Rockers license.   

Curaleaf's acquisition of Grassroots itself is expected to close early next week, after the Grassroots shareholders meeting scheduled to approve the revised transaction on July 16.

Joseph Lusardi, CEO of Curaleaf, said, "Our acquisition of our ninth license in Arizona further strengthens our presence in the state, which continues to be one of the largest medical cannabis markets in the country. It also marks one of the final milestones before we formally close our acquisition of Grassroots."

Under this license Curaleaf will open its ninth store, as it currently operates eight dispensaries in Arizona and already has one of the largest retail footprints in the Metro Phoenix Area. Arizona is one of the largest medical marijuana markets in the U.S. with one of the highest percentages of registered patients.

The close of the acquisition of Grassroots will make Curaleaf the world's largest cannabis company by revenue and the most diversified, vertically integrated cannabis company in the U.S., the world's largest cannabis market. The transaction expands Curaleaf's presence from 18 to 23 states, with the combined company having over 135 dispensary licenses, 89 operational dispensary locations, over 30 processing facilities and 22 cultivation sites with 1.6 million square feet of current cultivation capacity.

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Lawmakers in Virginia, Pennsylvania Push for Cannabis Legalization, Arkansas Campaigns Run Out of Time to Qualify Adult-Use Initiatives for 2020 Ballot: Week in Review

This week, Virginia Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy announced plans to carry an adult-use cannabis legalization bill into a special session of the legislature if the legislation wins approval from the Speaker of the House. Elsewhere, in Pennsylvania, Sen. Sharif Street sent a letter to the governor, urging him to consider adult-use legalization this year.

Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.

Texas: Austin Chief of Police Brian Manley has issued a memo indicating that the police department will no longer prosecute misdemeanor cannabis possession offenses unless there is an immediate safety threat, or it is part of a separate felony-level investigation. “At some point the state of Texas needs to step up and do their part and legalize it so it can be properly taxed and regulated, but for now, not having the police wasting their time on these personal marijuana cases … is the right policy and we’ve been fighting to achieve this for many years,” Austin Councilmember Greg Casar told KVUE.com. Read moreMissouri: The Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has determined that a doctor’s credentials were stolen and used to fraudulently certify patients for the state’s medical cannabis program. The DHSS launched an investigation last month after roughly 600 patients submitted physician certification forms with unauthorized signatures. Read moreVirginia: Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy has announced plans to legalize cannabis in a special session of the legislature, if the legislation wins approval from the Speaker of the House. A cannabis decriminalization law took effect in Virginia on July 1, and Carroll Foy told WTOP, “If we can decriminalize, we can legalize.” Read moreOklahoma: The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) has announced that it will begin enforcing more stringent laboratory testing rules in the state’s medical cannabis market. The OMMA indicated in April that it would require medical cannabis products sold by a processor or grower to be tested by a state-licensed laboratory, but the deadline was extended to July to ensure there are enough licensed labs to meet the demand. Read morePennsylvania: In an effort to ameliorate Pennsylvania’s economic contractions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, State Sen. Sharif Street issued a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf this week, urging for the consideration of adult-use cannabis legalization during this year’s budget negotiations. Co-signed by 14 Democratic senators, the letter advocated that new revenue from legalization is a preferable alternative to issuing broad-based taxes and spending cuts; and legalization will bring justice to those affected by cannabis-related offenses, which “disproportionally fall on our black and brown citizens,” the letter stated. Read moreArkansas: Facing a shortage of funding and unforeseen circumstances stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, two groups that hoped to place adult-use cannabis legalization initiatives on Arkansas’ 2020 ballot have refocused their efforts on the 2022 election. Arkansans for Cannabis Reform and Arkansas True Grass had to gather nearly 90,000 signatures by July 3 to get their proposed constitutional amendments before voters this fall, but the feat proved too much once the coronavirus crisis descended on the U.S. this past spring. Read moreIllinois: The state’s cannabis sales reached over $47.6 million in June, which now holds the record for the highest sales figures in the state. Dispensaries sold 994,545 items last month with customers spending $48 on average per sale before tax. Read moreOhio: The Ohio State Medical Board voted this week to add cachexia, or wasting syndrome, to the list of qualifying conditions for the state’s medical cannabis program, although it rejected adding autism and anxiety. The board’s decision follows recommendations from an Ohio State Medical Board committee, which recommended adding cachexia last month, while also rejecting autism and anxiety as new qualifying conditions. Read moreCalifornia: A group of cannabis dispensary applicants plan to drop their lawsuit over Los Angeles’ licensing process after the city agreed to process the next 100 applicants in line for licenses, which could double the number of permits issued during this licensing round. The Social Equity Owners and Workers Association and one of its members filed the lawsuit earlier this year to force Los Angeles cannabis regulators to vet all the dispensary applications it received last fall under its first-come, first-serve process, which has been marred by controversy. Read moreCanada: Aurora Cannabis announced this week that Miguel Martin, president of Aurora USA and head of Reliva LLC, has been appointed chief commercial officer of Aurora. Martin will replace Darren Karasiuk, who held the position at Aurora since February 2019. Read more

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Fluence Leads Global Research Initiative to Study Impact of Light Quality on Plant Development, Yield and Crop Quality

AUSTIN, Texas, July 8, 2020 - PRESS RELEASE - Fluence by OSRAM, a global provider of energy-efficient LED lighting solutions for commercial cannabis and agriculture production, has expanded its global photobiology research program, which encompasses studies on multiple vine crops, leafy greens and medical cannabis in the United States, Canada, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Fluence's network of research institutions and partners for its program includes Wageningen University & Research (WUR) for tomatoes, Proefstation voor de Groenteteelt (Proefstation) to study cucumbers, Harrow Research and Development Centre for peppers, The Technical University of Munich's Greenhouse Lab Centre for lettuce, Wageningen Plant Research’s Greenhouse Horticulture business unit and Compassionate Cultivation for medical cannabis.

The latest studies utilized Fluence’s VYPR Series top light and expanded PhysioSpec spectra offering, which features four spectra and market-leading efficacies up to 3.8 µmol/J, in a randomized block design with triple replicates during a winter growing season. A leader in global horticultural research, WUR explored the impact of each spectrum on Merlice and Brioso tomato cultivars.

“Traditionally, tomato plants are grown under high-pressure sodium lights, where only one spectrum is available to growers,” said Ep Heuvelink, associate professor of horticulture and product physiology at WUR. “Given the efficacy of Fluence's LED solutions and the company's spectra options, it’s critical to understand how various tomato cultivars perform under LEDs and diversified spectra.”

Featuring a 1.3-hectare greenhouse with 38 independent compartments, Proefstation’s facility brings more than 50 years of experience in research on the cultivation of greenhouse and field vegetables.

“Light spectra have an important impact on plant and fruit quality, and we’ve found that LEDs provide a more optimal, precise spectrum than HPS,” said Jonas De Win, lead cucumber researcher at Proefstation. “This research is critical for our growers who frequently ask which spectra is best for their greenhouse and crop variety. Our goal is to act as the bridge between cucumber growers and the latest scientific research, enabling cultivators to enhance their environments and ultimately become more profitable.”

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Pennsylvania State Senators Issue Letter to Gov. Tom Wolf Urging Adult-Use Legalization Consideration

In an effort to ameliorate Pennsylvania’s economic contractions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, State Sen. Sharif Street (D) issued a letter to Gov. Tom Wolf on July 9, urging for the consideration of adult-use cannabis legalization during this year’s budget negotiations.

Co-signed by 14 Democratic senators, the letter advocated that new revenue from legalization is a preferable alternative to issuing broad-based taxes and spending cuts; and legalization will bring justice to those affected by cannabis-related offenses, which "disproportionally fall on our black and brown citizens," the letter stated. 

“We are amid a historic crisis, and we should be doing everything possible to avoid raising taxes that could have far seen and unintended consequences on so many of our communities who are struggling to get by right now,” according to the letter. CBS Pittsburgh reports the state's deficit is $3.2 billion. 

The senators make the case that legalization would have positive impacts on other industries, including the agriculture sector, and create cannabis-related jobs in the state. The letter cited a report from the Auditor General which showed legalization would raise “$581 million per year through taxation and regulation,” and argued that “Pennsylvanians deserve to be involved in this growing industry and the Commonwealth will reap the rewards of our participation.”

“It’s something the majority of Pennsylvanians support and it’s something that legislators have had some time to think about and attitudes have evolved in quite a bit,” Street said in an interview with Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary.

RELATED: Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman Says Legalizing Adult-Use Cannabis Can Help State’s Budget Deficit

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Millions in Cannabis Vape Product Inventory Remains in Quarantine in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) is asking the public to help the agency determine what it should do about the more than 619,000 vaporizer products – representing millions in potential revenue for retailers and manufacturers – that were quarantined between Sept. 25 and Dec. 12, 2019.

Beginning last summer, after the mysterious lung illness now known as EVALI, or e-cigarette, or vaping, product use-associated lung injury, sickened thousands of people who had reported using vaping products and in all 50 states, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker declared a public health emergency Sept. 24. He issued a temporary ban on the sale of vaping products, including those produced by licensed cannabis producers in both the medical and adult-use markets.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Douglas H. Wilkins later stepped in and ruled to exclude medical cannabis vape products from Gov. Baker administration’s ban on all vaping product sales. But then less than a week later, the CCC intervened and implemented a quarantine on "all vaporizer products” Nov. 12, with an exception for products used to vaporize flower for medical-use patients.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined that the suspected and now primary cause of EVALI was vitamin E acetate, a cutting agent usually found in illicit market cannabis devices. More than 2,800 people reported cases in all 50 states, and 68 people have died.

On Dec. 12, 2019, the CCC amended the order and permitted licensed producers to resume production and the sale of new vaping products – with a revised testing regimen that includes a test for vitamin E acetate.

But no decision was made on the quarantined 619,362 products at that time. Industry leaders in the state are hoping that changes soon.  

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Increasing Popularity of 7/10 Exemplifies Rise in Cannabis Concentrates

July 10, also known as 710 or Oil Day, is the cannabis industry’s second annual “holiday.” Although not as popular or as well celebrated as 4/20, July 10 has picked up steam in recent years thanks to the rising popularity of concentrated cannabis products.

Sales data from various markets show that as sales continue to grow across markets and flower continues to dominate the product category lists, concentrates are one of, if not the fastest-growing, product segment.

The Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division’s (MED) 2019 annual report noted 40,229 pounds of concentrate products were sold across both the medical and adult-use markets that year, up nearly 128% from 2016 when 17,647 pounds of concentrate products were sold. In comparison, in 2019, 350,429 pounds of flower products were sold across both the adult-use and medical markets, compared to 335,640 pounds of flower in 2016, an increase of only 4.4%.

In Massachusetts, a newer adult-use market, flower remains the top-selling and fastest-growing segment, although concentrates continue to show steady growth. In June 2019, nearly $19.3 million worth of dried cannabis flower and $12.9 million of concentrates were sold. In June 2020, more than $26.6 million worth of flower and just under $14.1 million worth of concentrates were sold, an increase of 38% and 17%, respectively. (Massachusetts’ market also was affected by a temporary mandatory shutdown of all adult-use sites in a statewide COVID-19 related stay-at-home order.)

Cannabis extract sales also have been booming in Canada since extracts were legally allowed to be sold starting in October 2019. That month, 320,201 units of concentrate products were sold on the non-medical market according to Health Canada data. In April 2020, the most recently reported month, 813,972 units were sold in the adult-use market, an increase of 154%. In that same time, flower sales have decreased slightly from 5,204,955 packaged units to 5,199,858.

Building a National Concentrate Brand

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Rylie’s Sunshine Partners with Front Range Biosciences for Hemp Field Trial Program

Front Range Biosciences, a Colorado-based agricultural biotech company, has partnered with Rylie’s Sunshine, a Virginia-based CBD tincture company operated by 14-year-old activist Rylie Maedler and her mother, Janie, for the latest in a series of hemp field trials to determine which hemp varieties perform best in certain regions of the country.

“At the highest level, it’s really a way for us to support what we think is a really exciting and worthwhile cause for the industry,” Front Range Biosciences CEO Dr. Jon Vaught told Cannabis Business Times and Hemp Grower. “It’s about advancing the science and developing a better understanding of … cannabinoids and how they can hopefully have a positive impact on … people who are struggling with some really challenging health issues.”

When Rylie was seven years old, she was diagnosed with aggressive bone tumors and epilepsy, which were both eventually controlled through the use of cannabis. Upon being released from the hospital, Rylie worried about the other children suffering from similar illnesses, who did not have the same access to cannabis-based medicine.

“I decided to start the Rylie’s Smile Foundation to educate families about cannabis and to pass laws to make cannabis more accessible,” Rylie told Cannabis Business Times and Hemp Grower.

Then, Rylie started receiving messages from families saying that their children were suffering negative side effects from cannabis. Lab testing determined that many of the products were contaminated with harmful ingredients, which inspired Rylie to launch Rylie’s Sunshine to produce safe medication for families like hers.

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